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KJV Thompson Chain-Reference Bible (Zondervan)

 

KJV Thompson Chain-Reference Bible
by Zondervan

As a long-time fan and user of the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, I was excited when I was given the opportunity to review this new edition by Zondervan. When I found out that Zondervan had bought the Thompson from Kirkbride, I was a little worried, to be honest. Kirkbride is the original publisher of the Thompson so when I heard that it was sold to another publisher I was worried that the features in this Bible that so many of us love would be altered. Well, I had never been happier to be wrong! Zondervan has left the cyclopedia, the chains, charts, pictures, map, index, all of it completely intact. I think they even improved upon it and made the Thompson even a little better. Zondervan has obviously added their own flair but without compromising the content, and I appreciate that greatly. 

Below I have made some comparisons between Kirkbride and Zondervan and what the buyer can expect from this new edition.




Cover

For reference, I own Kirkbride's KJV paperback edition and Zondervan's KJV hardback. Zondervan kept the original Thompson logo but has changed the presentation. It is less cluttered, clean and simple, whereas Kirkbride's paperbacks and hardbacks were very cluttered (in my own opinion). I didn't like the design which is why I kept mine in a cover. Zondervan's hardback comes in a dust jacket but the cover itself does not have the Thompson logo, only the words "Holy Bible" in small print inside a box-very minimalistic. 

Each translation (hardback and paperback) comes in a different color. The KJV is a pretty mustard yellow.

Paper & Print

The paper feels about the same thickness and smoothness. Zondervan also kept the same font type and size (in fact the page numbers line up exactly). However, it was announced that next year they will release the Thompson in the comfort print, so I'm very excited about that. 

Zondervan's paper is a lot whiter than Kirkbride which used to be more of a cream- color.

The only difference I could find in the print is that Kirkbride's is bolder and the red is brighter. This is a downgrade from Zondervan because the words are now a little harder to read but the charts and pictures are easier to distinguish. 

Helps

As I stated earlier, Zondervan left all the study helps completely intact, so everything is still there. They have actually added an index to the colored maps on the back, which I found very helpful. They also added 16 lined pages for notes on the back. The color on the maps does seem a little muted though, but not by a lot. Just keep in mind that the maps are not as bright as Kirkbride's.

Details

Zondervan's is Smyth- sewn, has one ribbon (I think 2 ribbons would have been better considering the size of the Bible). It has matching tail bands. Both Bibles measure the same, although, the Zondervan is a tiny bit thicker. 

All in all, I'm impressed with this new Zondervan edition. They have improved upon the Thompson without omitting the helps we all love. However, if I were on the market for a Thompson I would wait for the comfort print edition which will be released May 2022. Thompson + Comfort Print = perfection. Enough said. 

I received a complimentary copy from BibleGateway & Zondervan as a member of the BibleGateway Blogger Grid in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. You can purchase this Bible and other BibleGateway products by going to their store here. 

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